My fiance and I are considering adopting a lab, or at least fostering one to see how it goes. The thing is, we have two adult cats with no real experience with dogs. Etain is 9 years old, she's a sweetheart to people, but doesn't seem to have much use for other animals, at least not for her adopted brother, Midir (who is too frisky for her) or the neighborhood cats who have the nerve to step foot on her front porch. The thing is, it seems like she's just gotten grumpy in her old age, when she was young, maybe a year or two old, she used to love the neighborhood cats, she'd sit in the window sill and they'd meow at each other half the afternoon, having little kitty conversations (that was in Florida, so we're not talking about the same cat here). Now she hisses, growls and generally gets freaked out when she sees another cat outside. She also does this if Midir tries to play with her. She's just not a playful cat, she also seems to be a little jealous and territorial. This doesn't bother Midir, he just antagonizes her anyway
but they've learned to co-exist, and they're civil and very occassionally sweet to one another when she's not trying to get him to leave her alone. Midir is about 5 years old. He is a sweetie, but he likes to play rough. They're both spoiled rotten and used to getting tons of attention and running the household.
Anyway, we chose labs because they are said to be good with other animals and highly trainable, and the fiance just loves labs and really wants a big dog. I like labs just fine, and would be happy to have one ... but I love all cats and dogs. Well, I joined a forum for labrador owners and things were looking good until I found a few threads about labs who have seriously injured or killed cats. Seems that some labs get really wound up and their prey drive kicks in if they've been chasing something, even if it's a cat that they normally love to cuddle with. This isn't really a lab thing, it's a dog thing. But it's got me freaked out. I know that you can work with the dog by keeping him on a leash inside and teaching him the "leave it" or "no kitty" command when they start to chase. But I'm really worried about safety. I would not be able to live with myself if one of my babies got hurt because I created an unsafe situation by bringing a dog into the house.
I know that an awful lot of this depends on the individual dog. I also know that a trustworthy, well trained dog can get worked up and hurt or kill another animal just with their sheer size and strength, whether it was their intention or not. Well I'm just babbling. But I'm really not sure what to do. I would love to about hear any experience you dog owners, especially lab owners have had with your cats, positive or negative. Any and all advice is welcome. I just need more information from people who love their cats as much as I do. The advice on the dog forums is more like, "the cat will figure out how to take care of themselves" .. that's just not good enough for me. I wouldn't expose my dog or my cats to danger if it can be helped. I also don't want to make my kitties miserable. I would rather deprive myself of having a dog than turn them into stressed out, nervous wrecks. I want a dog, but I want it to be a positive and safe addition to the household for everyone on two legs or four.
Anyway, we chose labs because they are said to be good with other animals and highly trainable, and the fiance just loves labs and really wants a big dog. I like labs just fine, and would be happy to have one ... but I love all cats and dogs. Well, I joined a forum for labrador owners and things were looking good until I found a few threads about labs who have seriously injured or killed cats. Seems that some labs get really wound up and their prey drive kicks in if they've been chasing something, even if it's a cat that they normally love to cuddle with. This isn't really a lab thing, it's a dog thing. But it's got me freaked out. I know that you can work with the dog by keeping him on a leash inside and teaching him the "leave it" or "no kitty" command when they start to chase. But I'm really worried about safety. I would not be able to live with myself if one of my babies got hurt because I created an unsafe situation by bringing a dog into the house.
I know that an awful lot of this depends on the individual dog. I also know that a trustworthy, well trained dog can get worked up and hurt or kill another animal just with their sheer size and strength, whether it was their intention or not. Well I'm just babbling. But I'm really not sure what to do. I would love to about hear any experience you dog owners, especially lab owners have had with your cats, positive or negative. Any and all advice is welcome. I just need more information from people who love their cats as much as I do. The advice on the dog forums is more like, "the cat will figure out how to take care of themselves" .. that's just not good enough for me. I wouldn't expose my dog or my cats to danger if it can be helped. I also don't want to make my kitties miserable. I would rather deprive myself of having a dog than turn them into stressed out, nervous wrecks. I want a dog, but I want it to be a positive and safe addition to the household for everyone on two legs or four.
